Seven years after the fact, a man comes to the realization that he was the sperm donor for his best friend's boy.Seven years after the fact, a man comes to the realization that he was the sperm donor for his best friend's boy.Seven years after the fact, a man comes to the realization that he was the sperm donor for his best friend's boy.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations
- Party Guest 2
- (as Jeremy J. Mohler)
- Girl at Pizzeria
- (as Lily Pilbald)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDiane Sawyer was apparently perfectly happy for her image to be used in Jason Bateman's masturbation scene.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the final barbecue scene, Wally is seen using a gas grill, as evident by the burner knobs. After walking in the house, he speaks of charcoal and lighter fluid, which are completely unnecessary when using a gas grill.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Wally Mars: Look at us. Running around, always rushed, always late. I guess that's why they call it the human race. What we crave most in this world is connection. For some people it happens at first site. It's when you know, you know. It's fate working its magic. And that's great for them. They get to live in a pop song; ride the express train. But that's not the way it really works. For the rest of us it's a bit less romantic. It's complicated and it's messy. It's about horrible timing and fumbled opportunities. And not being able to say what you need to say when you need to say it. At least, that's the way it was for me.
- SoundtracksInstant Replay
Written by Dan Hartman
Performed by Dan Hartman
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Bateman is at his under-acting, low key, gentle best responding to Aniston's usually cute bemusement because, as you might have guessed, he loves her but has not the daring to tell her. Then, at the donor party, he gets excited in the bathroom at a picture of Diane Sawyer and switches his sperm for the donor's.
You've seen similar romantic comedy setups where the principals know each other too well or dislike each other so much that they will be enlightened and bond by the end of the film. You know how it all will turn out, so after that smart opening, the film devolves into clichéd expectation fulfillment.
However, scenes between Wally and six-year old Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), his son by the switch but a secret to mother and son for much of the film, are well-acted given the appropriate level of dialogue, their mutual respect, and the film's unwillingness to exploit Robinson's cuteness to elicit favorable reviews. But after all, like his dad, Sebastian's a pessimist with eccentric and sometimes macabre tastes, not always exploitable characteristics. In any case, these two actors are as good as one could expect to show a loving relationship between two eccentrics who don't know for some time they are related.
Saving the film from my impending "C" grade are Jeff Goldblum as Leonard, Wally's best male friend; the cute Thomas Robinson as Sebastian, Kassie's son; and manic Juliette Lewis as Debbie, Kassie's best girl friend. With weak competition like Bow Wow in Lottery Ticket, Aniston manages to be in a film just a bit above my average. Too bad because that opening is worth seeing just for itself.
- JohnDeSando
- Aug 18, 2010
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- The Baster
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $27,779,426
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,436,713
- Aug 22, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $49,843,011
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1